My Master is My Lover
by Leiko Aya
Summary: Being a servant at a mansion isn't easy. Especially when you're a person like Onodera Ritsu. One day, Ritsu was given a letter that stated he was to be the personal servant to the Lord of the Mansion - Takano Masamune-dono. It's bad enough that Ritsu doesn't want the job, but what happens when his first order from Takano-dono is, "Kiss me"! What on earth will Ritsu do! AU.


**A/N:** Hey guys! This is my very first story for Sekaiichi Hatsukoi, so I hope you like it. For a fair warning, this is an AU. The story is set in Japan's Edo era. I've planned at least 15 chapters for this story. Although nothing is set in stone, so the amount of chapters may change. I'd just like to let you know that this whole story is going to be written in Ritsu's point-of-view, hence the title.

Please be aware that I have a HELL of a lot of ongoing Fanfiction up at the moment, so updates may be a bit random…

**OCC NOTE! **I've made Ritsu homophobic for the majority of this story, just thought I'd let you know... The cause of that is explained in this chapter, though.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Sekaiichi Hatsukoi; all rights go to the respective (and in-genius) owner.

_I hope you enjoy._

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One would think that a good-looking Lord, such as mine, would have many beautiful women from all over the country to serve him. But, that is not the case. Our great Lord, Takano Masamune-dono, has many things going for him – his looks, his personality, his wealth, his estate and many admirable other things. Yet, he does not have a single female servant. They are all, in fact, men – which is where I come in.

My name is Onodera Ritsu, and I have been a servant here since I was a little boy. My father was a writer, and although his novels were great, we sold only a few. This caused our lack of wealth, and my parents were forced to sell their only child (myself) to the Takano family. I don't hate them for it, though. As sad as it may be, selling children is commonplace and cannot be helped in this day and age.

Takano-dono's parents recently passed away from a rare sickness that they both caught, at the exact same time. Personally, I think that's… kind of shifty, if you know what I mean. Not that I'm implying that his Lordship would kill his own parents, but there's no doubt in my mind that other people may want to take over his estate... There is the fact, though, that ever since Takano-dono's parent's passing, he has "changed"… He fired all the female servants working here, and employed men instead. He also broke off his engagement to his fiancé (well, ex-fiancé now) in Kyoto. There's a rumour going around that she is none too impressed… not that you can blame her, of course.

But lately, I've heard many people in the mansion questioning Takano-dono's sexuality. They say that he actually likes men, and not women! How insane is that?! A relationship between two men is absolutely disgusting!

…

I should probably mention that I'm homophobic, huh? And I suppose reasoning for that is in need of an explanation, too… Although, there isn't much to it. When I was first starting out as a servant here, a young boy, two years older than me, would frequently come to visit me. After a few years, we grew close and I found out that I harboured, what the older maids called, "puppy-love" for him… One day I was going to tell him, but I overheard him talking to another friend how disgusting relationships between men are… Well, my puppy-love was instantly shattered. I suppose it was after that that I started to become homophobic, too. Such a marvellous life I have… Honestly, you'd think it'd be the perfect start point for a beautiful, romance novel.

…But this is reality we're talking about here – and happy endings like that only exist in our imagination.

Getting back to the point...

I'm now 26, and my expectations as a servant have been raised. My days' work includes cleaning, cooking, washing, hanging, organising and responding to my Lord's needs. Although, the latter is something I don't usually do. It is the duty of the higher servants to serve our Lord. Even though I am a lower status, I am grateful that serving such an important person isn't my job – a jaded person like myself probably wouldn't last very long…

Today was supposed to be a normal day, like any other – eating, going about my chores, keeping my nose out of trouble, bowing whenever a person of power came near, eating once more and then go to bed. But when I woke up in the morning, there was that damn letter beside my bed in the servants' quarters. Now, doing what every normal person would do, I opened the scroll (cross out the fact that I basically ripped the darn thing apart) and read the contents:

"_Dear Onodera Ritsu,_

_From today onwards, you are assigned to Lord Takano Masamune. He is your direct master from now on, and you are to never leave his side. You will have a room located right next to his Lordship, that way you are as close to him as possible and can quickly respond to any request he may have for the duration of the night. You must obey his every command, without question, and see to his everyday needs. This duty includes cleaning his chamber, making his bed, filling his bath, helping him dress, making sure his ink and paper supply is always filled, escorting him to places in and outside the mansion and fulfilling his personal requests. You needn't cook for him unless he asks you to, which will be rare because he employs trained cooks. Until you are advised otherwise, from either his Lordship or myself, you will serve him for the rest of your time at the Takano mansion. _

_Regards,_

_Yokozawa Takafumi."_

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…Which brings me here - kneeling outside his Lordship's room with the bear-like head servant, Yokozawa Takafumi-san… _Not _a situation I want to be in – or anyone else, for that matter. It's a known fact that Yokozawa-san is easily the most "unpleasing" person to be around. His bear-like figure and his ruff, harsh way of speaking definitely does _not_ calm the nerves. I mentally sigh, why in God's name have I been chosen to do this?! Am I receiving punishment for some forgotten wrong-doing I've committed?! Jeez! My life _sucks_!

Yokozawa-san knocks on the door and says, "It's Yokozawa Takafumi. I'm bringing in your personal servant, Onodera Ritsu."

"…Come in." A delayed response. Great. My new "_master_" is no doubt going to be stuck up and snobby.

…See what I mean when I say I probably won't last long?

Yokozawa-san slides the doors open, revealing the man who's no doubt going to cause me terror in the near future. My throat feels tight and I swallow dryly – Lord Takano is like another, but more powerful, Yokozawa-san. I've actually never seen him before until now, which probably plays a deal in my unease. He has a tall figure, black hair and brown eyes… Wonderful description, I know. I've always been fond of literature, but as you can plainly see, I'm not cut out for the life of an author. And whether it is a blessing or a curse could be debated on.

"…It's nice to meet you, Onodera," Takano-dono says, his gaze staying intently on me. Not in a hostile way, but one of observation – like he's trying to memorize my physical appearance.

…Not creepy at all.

"It is a pleasure to serve you, Takano-dono," I bow on my knees respectfully. Unbeknown to me, a small smirk had made its way onto his Lordship's lips.

"Onodera-kun has been made aware of his duties. Please don't hesitate to complain if he does not satisfy you," Yokozawa-san said, narrowing his eyes at me slightly.

"I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Then I'll excuse myself." Yokozawa-san bowed before he left and shut the door. For five minutes after the bear left we sit there in silence. Takano-dono's eyes never leave my body, as creepy as that sounds.

'Jeez. What is this guy doing? Staring up me…' I lift my eyes and accidently make eye contact. My eyes widen before my gaze shoots down to the ground. Out of nowhere, I hear slight chuckling coming from his Lordship.

"Hehe, honestly. There's no need to be so nervous," he chuckles, "you're quite adorable, aren't you?"

"A-adorable?" I repeat, slightly horrified. What if the rumours are true?!

"Yes," he smirks slyly, "In fact, I already have your first order."

"A-and that would be, Takano-dono?"

"Kiss me."

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**A/N: **Hope you enjoyed! Please leave a _**review**__, _it would make me super happy! :)

This chapter hasn't been edited by a beta. If you find any mistakes, please let me know!

Leiko Aya.


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